Together again

 This Thanksgiving is the first time the whole family has been together in two years.

Except for my boys and their families, everybody was there. It was a nice get together with good food and fellowship. 

My sister in law, who was so close to dying this year, has been doing better. So that made it a double blessing.

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving weekend.

Shop the sale

 

In case you didn't know or get the memo, Fat Quarter Shop is having a Black Friday sale of 20% off all orders. Sale ends tonight!

Happy Thanksgiving

                          In all things give thanks.

                                                             1 Thessalonians 5:18

The Grands

The Grands came over for a visit on Saturday and they (we) had the best time!

Higher! She kept asking me to go higher :-)

Apple Dip

Apples, don't you love them? It's a perfect time to make Apple Dip.

1 8 oz package Cream Cheese (soften at room temp)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup 10x Powdered Sugar
2 T Vanilla
1/3 cup crushed Salted Peanuts

Blend first 4 ingredients together til smooth.  Add peanuts.

Simple recipe.

Simply delicious!

 Grace at Home

Saturday Sparks

So sad

 Have you ever gone back somewhere, thinking that you will find the magic like before? On our recent trip to the mountains, I wanted to go the co-op in Dillsboro NC. We have visited it for years and I always enjoyed finding some little something that caught my eye. 

Well this time I was so disappointed. Yes, they had a lot of stuff that was hand made by locals, I guess. But they just weren't up to what it used to be. The most interesting was the few wall hangings.

We drove an hour out of our way, but we won't be going back. There was always two friendly elderly ladies at the desk, but this time there were two young girls, who were more interested in socializing then helping you. Almost all the shops were closed in the town. I'm so sorry to see this little gem of a town losing how special it used to be. 

The color of fall

 As we traveled through the mountains, we were pretty amazed that there was still lots colorful leaves.

We spent a couple of days at the Top of Georgia Airstream park. It was really quite lovely.

Traveling further north, there was a little more color in the leaves.

Of course we had to stop at a quilt shop.

We found the Quilt'n Kaboodle quilt shop. And let me tell you it is huge.

The shop had some really beautiful fabric, and a very large section of mark downs. It was one of the nicest shops I have been to in a long tim.

Veterns Day

Today is Veterans Day in the US.  We honor and thank those who have fought for our freedom and served our country.

My father in law served in WW2.

I think it was hard on this young man, because he never talked about the time he spent in the military and his service during the war. But I am thankful non the less, for his service.

A Deep Divide

 

A Deep Divide by Kimberly Woodhouse was a 5 star read for me. Having never been to the Grand Canyon it was intriguing for me to read about the wonders of this great place.

Emma Grace McMurray has come to the Grand Canyon to be part of the Harvey House that has opened there. Running from people who are looking for her since her father tried to sell her into a marriage that would benefit him financially. She soon learns, after she runs away, that her father is murdered.

Ray Watkins is a different type of man. His faith leads Emma Grace to trust him. Seeking to please his father, he is sent by his father to take care of something his father would not disclose to him, but his fathers business associates end up in jail for some shady dealings.

I think this is the first book by Woodhouse that I have read. And it as well worth every single word. It was clean, God centered and very interesting. A historical fiction that was well balanced, with romance and a bit of mystery.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

On the road again

 We've been traveling this past week. 

It's been cold in Georgia. It's always such a shock to me when we go from 80 degrees to 45. But we made some stops along the way.

I always like to stop at Birdhouse Quilts. They are the nicest people in Quilt shops.

I bought a couple of pieces of fabric, but I haven't taken any pictures yet. Will show you later.

Stopped at Pappadeux on the way. My first time eating there.

It was pretty good but WAY too expensive!

More to come.

Time change

 

Don't forget to turn your clocks back!

What will you do with your extra hour??

Chocolate and Pumpkin

Sweet Martha!  Don't you just love to find a recipe that says....... make me??  Well Miss Stewart shared this yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.  Now if you are a chocoholic, this is for you!  (I could not even get a picture before they were devouring these bars)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. With a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. The mixture will look somewhat curdled. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake bars for 35-40 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

4. Cool bars completely in pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

 Grace at Home

Saturday Sparks

My Dinosaur man

 My little Dinosaur man was thrilled with his birthday present. 

OH, did I mention it wasn't exactly the quilt I made. He LOVED the dinosaur we bought him. 

A walking roaring dinosaur! 

Here is the quilt I finally finished at the last hour.

I do think he liked it. It was too much competition with the play one. :-)

 Can I get a 

Whoop Whoop?

A tale of two companies

 As it is becoming more and more common to order online, I recently had an experience that was pretty telling.

I wanted to order some things as a gift for a birthday present. I ended up ordering from the MSC, because I knew the lady had shown an interest in this.

On my order page, it was stated that the shipping could be delayed as much as 10 days. 

Note: Due to increased volume, all orders are taking an average of 3-10 days to be shipped from our warehouse.

Well I thought I had enough time to receive the whole package. So I placed the order on Sept. 4.

Nine days pass, still nothing. I sent an email asking when I might expect my order to be processed. Nothing. No reply. After another email, again asking if someone could please check on my order. Still no reply.  On the eleventh day, again I sent an email. Crickets....

On Sept 16th, I get an email stating that my order is ready to roll out with a FedEx tracking number.

So I track my package and it comes close!! Like in the town where I live. But then an amazing thing happens. The package is sent to Orlando!!!!! Huh????? 

The package finally arrives at my door on Sept 24th. TWENTY DAYS after I placed the order.

Ok we are not to compare, right?  But I have to testify that Fat Quarter Shop did not do this kind of thing to me. 

I contacted the FQS and asked about a pattern. I missed the bundle they offered but I still liked the pattern and wondered if they still had it available. The NEXT morning I received an email from Michelle Moss letting me know that the pattern I like WAS indeed available with the purchase of Sunday Stroll Jolly Bar. I was totally thrilled because I really liked the pattern and the colors in the Jolly Bar. So I placed my order Friday Oct 22.  On Oct 26, I received a message that my package was on the way with a USPS tracking number.  The tracking said I could expect the delivery on Oct 30. Guess what? I received the package TWO days early. On Oct 28!! That's coming from Texas all the way to Florida folks. 

Ok so what is the deal. Why did it take twenty days to come from MSC and only TWO days from FQS? First I have had this same thing happen with delivery from Fed Ex before. Because of tracking I can see where things are going. Lately they seem to take the long (scenic?) route to deliver. Once before I had a package almost to my door, and it goes to Michigan before coming back down south. Is someone not knowing what is in the truck? 

Secondly why could no one at MSC not answer my emails? That is just not good customer service in my opinion. 

So the conclusion I came to is I have deleted all emails, Instagram's, blog and newsletters from MSC. They obviously are too busy for my little orders. I will just keep my business with companies that care enough about the their customers. 

And I am so happy with my pattern and Jolly Bar.